This article contains spoilers regarding the main plot of "Starfield."

Last month, Bethesda revealed that it plans to release another "Starfield" expansion after the "Shattered Space" DLC. And now we have learned that the developer has trademarked the term "Starborn," leading to speculation that this may be the name of the next installment of the sci-fi RPG.

As reported by VGC, the trademark registration was discovered by Twitter user Timur222. The trademark, filed earlier this month with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, covers various categories of physical and digital media, including "recorded computer game software" and "downloadable computer game software."

The term "Starborn" is specific to Starfield and refers to extradimensional superhuman travelers that players encounter approximately one-third of the way through the RPG's main storyline. This association has led to speculation that "Starborn" may be the title of Shattered Space's next expansion RPG.

Bethesda is indeed planning to release a further expansion to Starfield. In an interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays last month, game director Todd Howard was asked if Bethesda plans to release annual DLC packs for "Starfield," Howard said, "More or less, yes." stated that Bethesda hopes to continue this "hopefully for a very long time."

As to whether the expansion will be specifically called Starborn, that is definitely a possibility. However, Bethesda may simply be protecting the term as part of its IP and central to the "Starfield" storyline; in May, ZeniMax Media trademarked the Doom cheat "IDKFA" prior to the release of "Doom: The Dark Ages". However, "Doom: The Dark Ages" was not called "Doom: IDKFA."

Certainly, Starborn is more appropriate for an expansion title than a bunch of letters that Doom fans are still debating the true meaning of, and Starborn is the logical faction to make up the DLC storyline. In any case, it will be a while before we know for sure; Shattered Space itself won't be released until this fall, where it will shed a great deal of light on House Va'ruun, a mysterious cult that worships a giant snake god called the Great Serpent.

Shattered Space will also include the usual things one would expect from Bethesda DLC. These include new locations, new equipment such as space suits, new bounties, and new structures for the base, such as an observatory module. As someone who stayed away from "Starfield" last year because of the innovative atmosphere of "Baldur's Gate 3," the impending DLC has made me consider returning to Bethesda's latest free-roaming adventure.